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Qarinah
| faction = | ageoftga = }} Baroness Qarinah is a demon and member of the Emerald Legion in the Andarian Empire in the Fourth Age. A veteran of the Second Great War who helped ensure the demons' victory in the Battle of Alent, she has served her demon superiors faithfully as a spymaster and does her best to keep Andaria safe from forces threatening its existence. In the years following the Catastrophe, she has had a continuous romantic affair with Stylianos Kinley. Biography Third Age Early Years Qarinah was born in the Demon Realm along with other demons. She eventually sided with Duchess Vaetris L'andariel and the Eastern Horde. After Vaetris had carved her duchy in Eastern Yamato in the aftermath of the Cataclysm, Qarinah and her commanding officer Lust, who would be posing as Lamashtu al-Khadra, were sent with a squad of succubi to infiltrate the Sultanate of Karaganda and spy on Libaterra as a whole for their Duchess who had plans for the continent. Qarinah posed dutifully as a Sarquil warrior who claimed to have served her lieutenant Lamashtu, who also posed as a Sarquil, all her life as a Faarisah warrior. Their deceptive act was so successful that they weren't questioned, and they did enough good fighting against stray demons in the Tronin Desert that they were treated respectfully by many tribes who saw them as some of the fiercest warriors serving under Sultana Adela al-Saif. After the Battle of Vanna had ended in the Northern Horde's favour and the Sarquil were forced to flee from the desert, Lamashtu, Qarinah and the rest of their secretly demonic scouting force spent time locating various survivors from the Northern Horde's attacks. Their plan was simple: gather enough survivors and take them safely to the rest of the Sarquil and thus make the Sarquil adore them even more, which would help with their ultimate goals. Godslayer Era Infiltrating Alent Lamashtu's unit, among them Qarinah, escorted surviving desert elf slaves to Alent where the Sarquil had settled into and returned them to their owner, Sheikha Karima al-Nassar, before they joined forces with the new Sultan Khalid al-Saif and his wife, Sultana Axikasha Keiran. Qarinah learned of Duchess Vaetris having taken the form of Ax and replaced the real Ax as the Sultana. This arrangement proved to be useful so Qarinah could ostensibly visit the Sultana as a warrior of the desert but would actually inform the disguised Duchess about what was going on in the city and what actions the succubi agents should take to bring Alent to its knees. While on patrol duty in the Sarquil Downs refugee district of Alent, Qarinah came across a wandering man, Virgil Chelms, who seemed lost. Curious about this strange man and his horse which looked unlike any other horse she had seen in Libaterra, Qarinah introduced herself to him. After some discussion, she decided to take Virgil to the inn in the Sarquil district. She had learned information from him which she believed could be useful to the Eastern Horde's cause in the future. She and Virgil then had an interesting conversation with the dark knight Stylianos Kinley, who had overheard something about the Plague of Undeath. After Styl left thanks to insults from the half-elven mage Shyralis who had also participated in the discussion, Qarinah listened mostly silently as the others spoke, soaking in as much information as possible. Making a Stand Later, at the King and Queen's Ball during the Celebration of the Harvest Moon, Qarinah turned up at a table with the warrior Rain, Styl, and the thief Mathias while being quite drunk. She was playing her part in Lamashtu's scheme to unleash the passions of the people in Alent in preparation for weakening the magicracy for a later invasion. To achieve this end, she tried wooing the men at the table, but they resisted, so she downed a Paladin's Breath to calm her nerves. With all the strong ale she'd had beforehand, she simply couldn't take that much more alcohol and stand straight. Or sit straight for that matter...although this was partly an act to appear weaker and thus hopefully make men more susceptible to her demonic charm. Stylianos volunteered to take Qarinah to the inn where she made her rest, fighting off Lust's subtle manipulation along the way. He very nearly was enticed into having his way with Qarinah, but at the last second resisted, though he promised to come back for her. Later, Lamashtu and Rain's paramour Razoul came by, and Qarinah got reprimanded for Styl not being there with her. Qarinah was annoyed by Lamashtu's mocking tone but also somewhat fearful, knowing Lust's temper, while she was ashamed she hadn't been as successful as her succubi sisters in seducing her prey. Later still, Qarinah met with Stylianos and the operatives of Shadowstrike who came to the inn and tried to keep them out of Lamashtu's room as she believed their interference would only make Lamashtu angrier. She failed. In the ensuing drama, Lamashtu ended up revealing herself as the demon Lust and ordered Qarinah to help her subdue the interlopers. However, Qarinah chose to keep up her masquerade and defied the demonic lieutenant of the Faarisah unit and was brushed aside by her demonic lion in return. She was propped up against a wall outside the inn by Orkis, a dwarf barbarian who had come to the group's aid. After a healing, Stylianos began carrying Qarinah until she woke up. To avoid exposing her true allegiance, Qarinah acted surprised that not one but several demons had infiltrated the Faarisah unit, but coped quickly enough to grab a dropped scimitar and begin to participate in the battle. She both witnessed and discouraged Styl from his draught of demon's blood. Soon after, she was a part of the group that attacked Lamashtu, who by this point had several minions aiding her. However, Qarinah botched her own attack and was grabbed by the throat. Despite discouragement, Stylianos saved Qarinah, pulling her out of her predicament. When Styl struck Lust, she responded with a clap that sent Styl, and therefore Qarinah, flying. Qarinah was put out again, and only when the Shadowstrike operative Ying Zi came to her aid did she wake up again, and by that time the battle had ended. Qarinah learned that a mysterious spell had hit and affected several women--demons included--and made them fall down in pain, which had distracted Lust long enough for the Anti Mage Police to subdue her. Lust had also claimed that the battle had been merely the beginning and the true threat would soon rise from Threshold, something which Qarinah was very well aware of but chose to keep that information to herself to prevent letting Alentians know of Vaetris's ultimate plans for the magicracy. Serving the Sultana Seemingly troubled by what she'd witnessed and heard, Qarinah briefly spoke with Sultana Axikasha Keiran although she didn't get to spend enough time with her to deliver her report before she was interrupted, so she chose to deliver the report in full some other day. She was tasked with becoming the Sultana's bodyguard and was asked to report what had happened in the Downs and how things had escalated so quickly. Before she'd delivered her report to the Sultana, she decided to check in on the nearest infirmary to learn anything she could about the spell and see that people were being treated fairly. While in the infirmary, she came across Styl who had been recovering there after the battle, and the two exchanged words where they came clean about their potential feelings for one another and how Lust's magic had affected them. Although reserved at first, Qarinah decided to wait and see where their paths might lead them, and Styl agreed. She then bid him farewell, claiming she still had a job to do before the night was over. Qarinah decided to head towards a plaza where Refan d'Zarnagon was being held captive in a magical cage. She interrogated the half-demon about recent events, asking if he knew anything important. Refan, however, replied sarcastically at her inquiries, claiming that he saw through her act. However, Qarinah remained undeterred and kept interrogating him. Refan decided to start using his demonic pheromones to seduce her and thus use her as a means to escape. Before anything serious happened, Styl appeared and interrupted the dangerous yet erotic scene between the two. He managed to make Refan let go of Qarinah and then helped her interrogate him although Refan remained mostly mysterious or unresponsive throughout most of the conversation. It was then that the men who had guarded Refan earlier returned, carrying an unconscious Sarquil woman in their arms. Qarinah excused herself and went to check in on her, recognizing her as one of the members of her unit. She quickly realized that the woman had been blinded and strange magic pervaded her, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. She decided to stop interrogating Refan and ensure that the woman would be taken into proper care. When she walked to Styl and explained what she was going to do, much to her surprise, Styl had suddenly decided to not tag along anymore, saying that he'd retire to the inn to rest. She sensed he wasn't telling the full truth but chose not to pursue the matter as she had other things to worry about. Instead their interaction was brief but playful, and she teased that her room would always be open to him should he want to visit her. Qarinah and one of the guards then took the injured Faarisah warrior to the infirmary. Once she'd handed her over to the healers, she decided to go and do what she was supposed to do earlier: deliver a report of the night's events to the Sultana. Unfortunately fate intervened once again when tensions escalated among the Sarquil, so she was called to handle things. She had to postpone delivering her report to the Sultana until a later date. Showing True Colors She led the Threshold Clan out of Threshold after Stylianos provide an escape from the Raid on the Den of Chaos, and witnessed the confrontation between Vaetris and Ax's party. More info later. Fourth Age Interim Years Qarinah was promoted to Baroness for her role in the Battle of Alent. Since the Catastrophe, she continued to keep company with Stylianos and the House of Gallu and became romantically involved with the former. Qarinah joined the Emerald Legion and acted as a spymaster for her demonic superiors, doing her best to keep the Empire safe from harm caused by threats from both within and without. Aliases and Nicknames ; Baroness Qarinah : Her title in Andaria. Appearance A beautiful, fit woman with tanned skin, dark hair and even darker eyes. She is clad in Sarquil padded armor, which is defensive enough while allowing for agility and flexibility. Personality and Traits Playful but very dutiful when needed, she follows her superiors' orders in spirit if not to the letter (e.g. During the confrontation with Lamashtu, she sided with lesser beings rather than her direct superior in order to follow the orders of her indirect superior Vaetris). She is conflicted when confronted with trust and camaraderie, such as Stylianos's friendship/attraction to her. Powers and Abilities She's skilled in the use of scimitars, can shapeshift between demonic and human forms, and is at least slightly magically adept or aware, though she has not been seen to cast spells. She's also a good actress and an adept liar. Relationships Lamashtu Gallu Qarinah served Lamashtu in many ways over the years and followed her orders without question. However, she sometimes had a mischievous side so she occasionally did her own thing while still doing what she was told. Following the revelation that Lamashtu was a demon, Qarinah openly rebelled against her to keep up masquerading as a Sarquil, which then led to the battle in the inn. There was an undercurrent of fear on Qarinah's end of this relationship, and this fear was also mixed with discontent over Lamashtu mocking Qarinah about failing to seduce Stylianos unlike the other succubi had done with their prey. Lamashtu was mixed about Qarinah's betrayal, on the one hand understanding that Qarinah did so to serve Vaetris but on the other hand being annoyed by an underling's rebellion. Their relationship remained complex following Lamashtu's captivity and continues to do so after the Catastrophe when Lamashtu turned more reclusive. Stylianos Kinley A stranger she met in Alent, Qarinah acted as if she desired him as part of the succubi's plan to seduce males, and otherwise got along with him as though they were old friends. Lamashtu's magic wound up attracting them to each other. After Lamashtu was captured following the clash during the night of the Ball, Qarinah and Styl re-evaluated their earlier actions and decided to let some time pass before they decided what path to follow. Despite this, there was attraction between the two that owed nothing to Lamashtu. Following Qarinah's reveal as a succubus and the Catastrophe that ushered in the Fourth Age, the attraction between her and Stylianos turned more romantic and led to a continuous affair. Even when Qarinah had to face prejudice from her fellow demon nobles for mingling with a non-demon, she was not afraid of the consequences. She and Stylianos respect one another even if she is sometimes amused if not a bit annoyed by him viewing her as a traditional, feminine woman than the warrior she is. See also *Eastern Horde *House of Gallu *Stylianos Kinley Category:Characters from Andaria Category:Characters from Yamato Category:Demons Category:Eastern Horde Category:Emerald Legion Category:Fourth Age characters Category:Sultanate of Karaganda Category:Third Age characters